28 Déc INTERVIEW — Holly Humberstone talks about her first album, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean

Right after her first show at Rock en Seine 2022, we interviewed the coolest sad girl / popstar : Holly Humberstone, before the release of her first album.

SOB : Hi! How do you feel about your first album ?

I’m excited. I feel very lucky that I got to write an album. I get some really cool things and hopefully it’ll be something that I’m really proud of. And then if  I’ll put my heart into it and speak, speak truthfully, hopefully people will be able to connect with it.

SOB : And are you getting any help from other artists like Sam Fender? 

I hope so. So cool to work with him. I really look up to him and his writing. I think he’s an amazing writer. 

SOB : Can you convince him to play in Paris?  

Okay. [laughs] I’ll have a serious chat with him and make sure that he comes back ! I don’t know why, this is the best place to play. France is my favorite country. I’ve got everything here. So I’m sure it’ll be easy to convince him.

SOB: Are there any other artists who you’d like to work with ? 

Oh, there’s loads. My parents had a really, really broad music taste when I grew up. So I’ve done a few covers of a couple Radiohead songs. I love Radiohead. My parents were like huge Radiohead fans. Um. Oh, just thinking, oh, no, I. Who else? I mean, I love Frank Ocean. Love Phoebe Bridgers so much. But also there are so many young female artists right now that are doing amazing things, writing amazing songs.

SOB : You’ve toured with Olivia Rodrigo, so how was it? 

Crazy. It was so cool. She’s one of the young female artists that are just putting out really honest, truthful music. And that’s why she’s doing so well, because people connect with it, you know, so it was so much fun too. It was like my first time properly touring the States and it was unlike probably touring really. It was a really, really intense kind of three months, but it was so much fun and I feel like I was so lucky to watch her play every night and her fans were so, so nice. And it just kind of made me want to get back into the studio and write songs. And I feel really ready, inspired because one day hopefully I’ll have a tour like that. I hope so. Anyway. But for me it’s the lyrics that are the most important part of the song. So I think just watching her lyrics is so truthful and so many people can relate to the stuff that she’s singing about because it’s universal stuff, you know, that everyone can relate to, you know? So I think that it just makes me want to write more maturely, and be more vulnerable. There’s something really empowering about being able to share so much of yourself with strangers, you know? So yeah, she’s hugely, hugely inspiring for me.

SOB : You’ve opened Rock en Seine today, was it your first show in Paris ? 

Oh is amazing it’s my first time playing with my rock band but I played once before in Paris. Um, it was, I think it was, it was The Olympia. I think it was Olympia. Yeah, it was supporting Lewis Capaldi on my own, two years ago now before COVID and it was the best and I loved yeah it was so fun I was so excited by that because I’d heard like my mum was like, « that’s an iconic venue » like, but I just am happy to be here and play like it’s my favorite.

And today, it was so much fun. It’s also my last show of the summer and I’ve had such a busy year touring. This is the last show until like November, so I was just enjoying myself really. I just wanted to take it all in and make the most of it. Yeah, it was so much fun. I loved it. I can’t wait to come back and rock on. That’s amazing. First of all, it’s like beautiful, like a beautiful ground, and it’s just lovely. I’m really excited to go out and explore that a bit later. And what’s nice is the lineup is incredible as well.

SOB: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at a festival? 

So I performed at Coachella, which was so cool. And I was watching Billie Eilish and she brought out Damon Albarn and I’m such a fan of Gorillaz. Like, I grew up listening to Gorillaz. I love Gorillaz so much, and I think for me that was extra special. And they played, which was incredible. And I think that was the best. I was just freaking out. It was just like perfect, like Chef’s Kiss kind of moment. But yeah, it was so good.

SOB: Are there any artist you’d like us to listen to ? 

Hm, I love Olivia Dean. I’m a big fan, so I’m really excited to see her. I think she’s great. Um, yeah, there’s so many incredible artists at the moment. 

[PHOTOS] Holly Humberstone @ La Bellevilloise, 19 septembre 2023, Paris

INTERVIEW – Olivia Dean talks about her first album, her rituals and Bordeaux